THE government has revealed how much cash it will give local councils to improve school dinners in the wake of Jamie Oliver's television series.

The celebrity chef spent time at a school in London and exposed children's poor eating habits and the junk food they were given.

He was so shocked at the small amount spent on school dinners that he started the "Feed Me Better" campaign, urging the government to spend more on healthier ingredients.

The Department for Education and Skills has now announced how much will be given to each local education authority to improve food standards. Calculations are done according to the number of pupils in an area and the number getting free school meals.

In the north west, Cheshire will get £390,248 and Manchester £283,945, around £15,000 less than Liverpool 's allocation. Bury has the lowest amount in Greater Manchester, getting £107,145 because of its relatively small size.

Kent gets the highest allocation in the country at £804,386, and the Scilly Isles will get the lowest, £891.

The money is for the next academic year. The government says it is part of £220m being spent over the next three years on school meals.

Minimum

By September 2006 schools will have to achieve a minimum nutritional standard and the extra cash is meant to ensure every school in the country meets the requirement.

The new rules require schools to spend at least 50p on each primary school child's meal and 60p per secondary school pupil.

Junk food meals like turkey twizzlers - which became infamous in Jamie Oliver's series - could be banned from school menus and dinner ladies will be trained to cook nutritious dishes.

A Schools Food Trust will be set up to oversee changes.

A spokesman for the DfES said: "Work to transform the health content of school meals is well underway as promised. An expert panel is developing the new nutrition standards - including potential bans on certain ingredients and foodstuffs.

"The funding is intended to help local authorities and schools place school meals on a sustainable footing at a level of quality which at least meets the nutritional standards for school meals that will become mandatory in 2006."

Amounts being given to local councils include:

Cheshire: £390,248,

Manchester: £283,945,

Wigan : £185,904,

Bolton: £175,494,

Bury: £107,145,

Oldham: £159,353,

Stockport: £154,860,

Tameside: £140,541,

Rochdale: £138,147,

Salford: £135,285,

Trafford: £134,231.

Now you've seen the figures; has the Feed Me Better campaign been a success? Have your say.